PERSONNEL from a US warship boarded a Venezuelan tuna boat with nine fishermen while it was sailing in Venezuelan waters, Venezuela’s foreign minister said on Saturday.

Tensions between the two nations escalated after US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of warships in the Caribbean, off the coast of the South American country in August, citing the fight against Latin American drug cartels.

While reading a statement on Saturday, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil told journalists the Venezuelan tuna boat was “illegally and hostilely boarded by a United States Navy destroyer” and 18 armed personnel who remained on the vessel for eight hours, preventing communication and the fishermen’s normal activities. They were then released under escort by the Venezuelan navy.

The fishing boat had authorisation from the Ministry of Fisheries to carry out its work, Mr Gil said at a press conference, during which he presented photos of the incident.

Along with the statement, Venezuela’s foreign affairs ministry distributed a short video, taken by the Venezuelan fishermen. In the video, it is alleged that part of the fishing boat, US navy personnel and the US warship can be seen.

“Those who give the order to carry out such provocations are seeking an incident that would justify a military escalation in the Caribbean,” Mr Gil said, adding that the objective is to “persist in their failed policy” of regime change in Venezuela.

Mr Gil said the incident was “illegal” and “illegitimate” and warned that Venezuela will defend its sovereignty against any “provocation.”

The Venezuelan foreign minister’s complaint comes days after Mr Trump said that his country had attacked a drug-laden vessel and killed 11 people on board.

Mr Trump said the vessel had departed from Venezuela and was carrying members of the Tren de Aragua gang, but his administration has not presented any evidence to support that claim.

Venezuela accused the United States of committing extrajudicial killings. The South American country’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said Washington’s version is “a tremendous lie” and suggested that, according to Venezuelan government investigations, the incident could be linked to the disappearance of some individuals in a coastal region of the country who had no ties to drug trafficking.